Losing Track of Time

An Unexpected email

I just received an unexpected email from Jetpack telling me that my site was back up after being down for 19 minutes. Looking closer there was an earlier one telling me my site was down.

This was bad news and then good news. Fortunately I did not see the first one until after the second one arrived. So I was saved the anguish of wondering what was going on. Fortunately it all seems good now.

In the process of checking I looked at my last post and saw that it was dated June. That was a bit of a surprise. It didn’t seem that long since I had put it online.

Looking deeper into things I checked the archive list for June and found just the one post. This made the picture worse because the current date is the 29th of July. Only two more days and a whole month will have gone without a post.

Cause for reflection to say the least

If I didn’t get a post done in the next day or so there would be no July archive and the momentum on my blog would be slowly dying. Even worse, I recalled making a ‘recent’ comment that I would try and make a post about once a week. Clearly this had to be more than a month ago!

So what has happened and why am I so far behind?

Well one thing is obvious. I need a better routine to ensure that I make regular posts. Rather than make it something that gets done when there is a slot. Because if the ‘slot’ gets covered by other activities then the blog post gets forgotten.

It’s Not as Though I Haven’t Progressed

I am currently holding at Day 39 in John Thornhill’s 60 day Partnership to Success having recently completed my eBook. And I am working on the next item which will be a slide /video presentation to complement the eBook.

So it not so much a matter of doing nothing. Rather it is becoming engrossed in one activity to the exclusion of all others.

Is Multi-Tasking the Answer

Now I am not a believer in multi-tasking. There is ample evidence to suggest that multi-tasking is one of those pseudo scientific myths. Here is just one reference that is worth a read.

Supposed multi-tasking is more like time slicing or serial tasking. The reference explains it well. At the end of the day it is less effective for a number of reasons.

Yes we can be doing multiple tasks in the same time slot but there are boundaries and limits involved.

Better to concentrate on the one activity for a set period like that recommended in Dr Mani’s book How To Focus.

It’s about improving productivity using his 3333 technique. If you are more into a free report take a look here instead.

But I digress

This post is about losing track of time. Not a discussion about multi-tasking.

Looking back at the last month I can see where it has gone.

Completeing the eBook needed some concentrated effort. Getting things right took a bit of time.

Then there was a mindmap for the proposed slide followup.

The PowerPoint templates was was more difficult to configure than expected. It tries to be too clever at times.

And its Camtasia PlugIn added to the challenges.

Day to Day Gets in the Way

Domestic life has its challenges too. These days it is just myself and the dog.

So running the house, walking the dog, shopping, a bit of cycling exercise and the laundry all need a slot.

So that’s where the past month has gone – without a blog post.

This is the follow to get back on track.

Lesson to be Learnt

And I think that there is a lesson to learn from it all. Don’t say it is too late to do anything so I give up. Rather pick up from where things were left off.

Don’t say I should have done better and give up. Never ‘should’ on yourself.

Or as John Thornhill say at the completion of each video clip ‘And you can now move on.’

That, I think, is the secret. Just keep moving forward. It is not a race, it is a progression.

Don’t be Too Hard on Yourself

So what if you are feeling a bit disillusioned with yourself and your performance?

Be a bit like that very old paint advertisment which said ‘Keeps On Keeping On’ – do the same.

You will get to the end in your own time. And you will have a well earned feeling of satisfaction.

Talk again soon

Ian Whyte